Golden Gate Capital to sell On The Border restaurant chain

Border Holdings, an affiliate of Argonne Capital Group, has agreed to acquire On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina from Golden Gate Capital. No financial terms were disclosed. Argonne is teaming up with Fortress Investment Group on the deal. King & Spalding and McGuireWoods advised Argonne Capital Group on the transaction while Jefferies served as financial advisor to On The Border and Golden Gate Capital. On the Border is a Mexican restaurant chain.

PRESS RELEASE

ATLANTA & SAN FRANCISCO – April 24, 2014 – Border Holdings, LLC and Golden Gate Capital today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement whereby Border Holdings, LLC will acquire the On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina (“On The Border”) brand from Golden Gate Capital. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Border Holdings, LLC is an affiliate of Argonne Capital Group who is partnering with an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group, LLC on this transaction.
On The Border is the largest full-service Mexican restaurant brand in the country, offering a wide variety of Mexican favorites, with a focus on fresh, signature and value-oriented dishes, complemented by a full offering of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. On The Border currently owns and operates 121 units across the U.S. The brand also franchises 36 units across the U.S., Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia and South Korea.
“We see a tremendous amount of strength in the On The Border brand and are confident that the Company’s unique menu and atmosphere will appeal to a broad demographic as we look to expand this chain nationwide,” said Karl Jaeger, Managing Director at Argonne Capital Group. “We are excited to once again partner with Fortress in this transaction and look forward to supporting the Company’s existing management team in their on-going efforts to further enhance and grow the Company.”
“We are pleased with the outcome of our successful investment in On The Border and believe the Company is well-positioned for the future,” said Josh Cohen, Managing Director of Golden Gate Capital. “Argonne will be a great partner for On The Border as the Company enters its next chapter of growth, and we are confident the brand will continue to thrive under Argonne’s ownership.”
“We are extremely excited to partner with Argonne as we continue to successfully execute against our strategy,” said Steve Clark, CEO of On The Border. “We have enjoyed the strong support of Golden Gate Capital and look forward to working with our new partners.”
King & Spalding and McGuireWoods LLP advised Argonne Capital Group. Jefferies LLC served as financial advisor to On The Border and Golden Gate Capital. Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal adviser to Golden Gate Capital.
About Argonne Capital Group
Argonne Capital Group is a private investment firm headquartered in Atlanta, GA. The firm focuses on multi-unit restaurant, retail and service investments. For more information, please visit www.argonnecapital.com
About Golden Gate Capital
Golden Gate Capital is a San Francisco-based private equity investment firm with over $12 billion of capital under management. The principals of Golden Gate have a long and successful history of investing across a wide range of industries and transaction types, including going-privates, corporate divestitures, and recapitalizations, as well as debt and public equity investments. Golden Gate is one of the most active investors in leading brands in the retail and restaurant sectors. Representative investments include Payless ShoeSource, Eddie Bauer, California Pizza Kitchen, Express, Zales, J.Jill and Pacific Sunwear. For additional information, visit www.goldengatecap.com.
About On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina
On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina is a leading full-service restaurant and the world’s largest Mexican full-service dining chain that offers an extensive menu of great-tasting, classic and contemporary Mexican food, like sizzling mesquite-grilled fajitas, and Margaritas as big and bold as the border itself. On The Border operates 157 restaurants across 36 states and three countries worldwide.